Electric discharge tube



Se t. 7, 1937. ,1. BECQ'UEMONT 2,091,953

ELECTRIC DISCHARGE TUBE' Filed Oct. 2, 1954 3, M A I 7' I '5 4 iouunuuo {HUHHIHU I I 6 15 F1g2. u

27mm I JACQUES B ECQUEMONf Patented Sept. 7, i937 quire!) STATES PATENT err-"ice ELECTRIC DISCHARGE TUBE Jacques Becquemont,

Socit Anonyme pour lElectricit et des Gaz Paris, France, assignor to les Applications, dc Bares Etablissements Claudc-Pa'z & Silva, Paris, France, a corporation of France Application In France November 4, 1933 3 Claims. (Cl. rte-424) The present invention relates to electric discharge tubes having a filling of rare gas or of metallic vapors or of mixtures of rare gas and metallic vapors, in which the luminous discharge has the appearance of brilliant regular balls separated by dark spaces appearing to move in the interior of the tubirohi'one electrode to the other.

The object of the present invention is to obtain adjustment of the velocity of the said balls in one or the other direction by the superpositioning of a continuous current of an intensity of the order of 5% of that of the alternating current adjustable in magnitude and in direction on the alternating current of a frequency sufiiciently high to create a dissymmetry in the alternations of the current. The balls thus obtained travel with a velocity increasing with the intensity of the continuous current and in the same direction.

as the latter. They may be maintained immovable by the annulment of the said continuous current.

Without in any way restricting the scope of the present invention, various embodiments of the present invention are diagrammatically illustrated in the annexed drawing.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a schematic view of a circuit embodying the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a similar view illustrating a modification.

Fig.3 is another schematic view illustrating a further modification, and

Fig. 4 is another schematic view showing'astill further modification.

In Figure 1, there is shown a discharge tube I provided with two electrodes 2 and 3, the former being a thermo-emissive electrode of known type. The filament 4 of this electrode is heated by a current passing through a portion 5 of the secon'dary winding of the transformer 6 supplying the tube current. A rheostat 1 is connected in.

' series with the heating circuit of the filament and is shown provided with two electrodes l2 and I3.

Electrode I3 is formed by a metallic cylinder I4 surrounded by a grid IS. A rheostat I6. is providedin a-eircuit connecting the metallic cylinder I 4 and the grid I5. Adjustment of the rheostat the velocity of the balls l6 varies the velocity of the balls in the discharge tube.

A third embodiment of the present invention as diagrammatically shown in Fig. 3 consists in connecting in series with the principal tube in which the balls move, a partial rectifier allowing the passage of one alternation of the special alternating current supplying the tube and partially arresting the other alternation, which gives rise to the continuous current necessary for regulating the velocity of the balls. The tubes shown in Figures 1 and 2 constitute in themselves such partial rectifiers if they are connected in series with the discharge tube of great length in which the desired efiect is to be'produced.

In Fig, 3 the principal discharge tube 20 is connected in series with the partial rectifier tube 2| of dimensions as small as desiredand of uhich one of the electrodes is of one of the types previously described with reference to Figures 1 and 2. A regulating rheostat 20 is provided for the regulation of the velocity and the direction of the balls in the whole circuit, and particularly in v the principal discharge tube 20. Reference numeral 23 indicates the general supply transformer.

A fourth embodiment of the present invention consists in producing the continuous current regulated in amount and in direction by a system of rectifiers connected in parallel with a part of the supply circuit of the principal tube.

In Figure 4, the discharge tube 26 is supplied with current by the transformer 21. A condenser 30 is connected in series with the tube and. allows the passage of most of the supply current. A small portion of this current 'is rectified in the shunt circuit 3| by perfect rectifiers 32 and 33 connected in opposition and producing a rectified current adjustable in amount and in direction by 1 supply current and regulates the velocity of the.

balls. The rectifiers 32 and 33 may be cuprous oxide rectifiers, thermionic valves, three or more electrode valvesin which the rectified current is controlled by the polarization of the grid or any other rectifying device.

The present invention also contemplates regulating the movement of the balls in a number of tubes connected in series by superposing an adjustable continuous current on the alternating supply current which flows through these tubes. To this end, there is connected in series with the principal tubes a device of the type described with reference to Figure 1, 2 or 3, .or, in parallel to the general circuit, a device of the type described with reference to Figure 4. Thus, there may be obtained for all these tubes, balls moving in the direction of the continuous current and at dif- 5 ferent velocities. By means of suitable connections, there will be obtained the appearance of balls moving at variable velocities and in variable directions in the tubes connected in series. It will be in particular possible to obtain identical movements of balls in all these tubes if the diameters are equal, if they are filled with the same gas under the same pressure and if their electrodes are identical and covered with a protective dielectric coating on their active portions. I claim:

1. An apparatus for regulating the speed and direction of movement of moving luminous balls produced in a luminescent tube, comprising a luminescent tube having an electrode at each end thereof, a circuit for supplying an alternating exciting current at a suflicient frequency to produce a glow discharge consisting of separated luminous regions to said tube, and an auxiliary luminescent tube connected in series with said tube, said auxiliary tube having electrodes at each end, a grid associated with one of said electrodes, and an adjustable impedance connecting said electrode and associate grid.

2. An apparatus for regulating the speed and direction of movement of moving luminous balls produced in a luminescent tube, comprising a luminescent tube, an electrode at each end of the tube, said electrodes having a protective dielectric coating to maintain a constant cathodic drop, means for supplying an alternating exciting current at a sufficient frequency to produce a glow discharge consisting of separated luminous regions to said electrodes, and means for superposing a direct current on the exciting current.- 3. A method of regulating the speed and direction of movement of moving luminous balls produced in a luminescent tube, comprising exciting the tube with alternating current, super-- posing a. direct currenton the alternating current to create a dissymmetry in the alternations thereof, and adjusting the frequency of the alternating current to obtain moving balls of luminescence in the tube.

4. A method of regulating the speed and direction of movement of moving luminous balls produced in a luminescent tube, comprising exciting the tube with, alternating current, superposing a direct current on the alternating current to create a dissymmetry in the alternations thereof, adjusting the frequency of the alternating current, and regulating the value of the direct current to obtain moving balls of luminescence in the tube.

5. A method of regulating the speed and direction of movement of moving luminous balls 5 produced in a luminescent tube, comprising exciting the tube with alternating current, rectifying a portion of the alternating current used for exciting said tube, superposing the rectified current on the alternating current to create a dis 19 7 symmetry in the alteratiqnLthereoiT and ad justing the frequency ofthe alternating current and regulating the value of the rectified current to obtain moving balls of luminescence in the tube. v 15 6. A method of regulating the speed and direction of movement of moving luminous balls produced inluminescent tubes connected in series, comprising providing the same gaseous filling inall the tubes, maintaining the filling in all 2 of the tubes at the same pressure, exciting the tubes with alternating current, rectifying a portion oi the alternating current used for exciting said tubes, superposing the rectified current on the alternating current to create a dissymmetry 25 in the alternations thereof, and adjusting the frequency of the alternating current and regulating the value of the rectified currenttoobtain moving balls of luminescence in the tubes.

7. An apparatus for regulating the speed and 30 direction of movement of moving luminous balls produced in a, luminescent tube, comprising a luminescent tube, a circuit for supplying alternating current at a suflicient frequency to produce a glow discharge consisting of separated luminous regions to said tube for exciting the tube, a rectifier connected in parallel with said alternating current circuit, whereby the rectified current-will be superposed on the alternating current, and means for varying the value of the rec- 40 tified current,

8. An apparatus for regulating the speed and direction of movement of moving luminous balls produced in a luminescent tube, comprising a luminescent tube, an electrode at each end of 45 the tube, said electrodes having a protective dielectric coating tomaintain a constant cathodic drop, means for supplying an alternating exciting current to said electrodes at a suflicient frequency to produce a glow discharge consisting 50 of separated luminous regions, and means for rectifying a portion of the alternating exciting current supplied to said tube and superposing the rectified current on the alternating current.

JACQUES BECQUEMQNT. 

